SR0715 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0715 LRB093 23496 RAS 53491 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate of the State of Illinois were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Ronald Ghilardi, former Mayor of Lisle, on July 25, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Ronald Ghilardi was born and raised in Berwyn; he graduated from St. Procopius College, now Benedictine University; at that time, the college was located near Lisle in unincorporated DuPage County; and

WHEREAS, While in college, Mr. Ghilardi's affection for the village of Lisle grew and fueled his dream to one day become Lisle's mayor; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ghilardi met his wife, Nancy, when she and several girlfriends were recruited by her church to participate in the plays being put on by the then all-male college; he was often chosen to act in the plays; in 1962, one year after he graduated, the couple married; and

WHEREAS, Upon graduating from college, Mr. Ghilardi worked in Allstate Insurance Company's legal department during the day and attended John Marshall Law School in the evenings; he earned his law degree in 1970; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ghilardi served as a Lisle trustee from 1970 to 1981 and as the Mayor of Lisle from 1989 to 2001; he was also a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and served as president of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference; and

WHEREAS, As Mayor of Lisle, Mr. Ghilardi was greatly admired for his leadership skills; he championed the transference of the village's dependence on property taxes onto the area of sales; he pushed for sales-tax rebates that realized hundred of thousands of dollars and benefits to the village; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ghilardi retired from Allstate in the late 1990s as the company's assistant vice president of litigation management; he later joined Ohio Casualty and two years ago, moved to Cincinnati to become that company's director of litigation management; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Ronald Ghilardi will be deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Nancy; his daughters, Lisa Williams and Christine Ghilardi-Solomon; his mother, Louise; his brother, Lawrence; and his three grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of Ronald Ghilardi along with all who knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Ronald Ghilardi as an expression of our deepest sympathy.